By:  Telford (Senate Sponsor - Ratliff)                           H.B. No. 1566
	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 14, 2003; 
April 15, 2003, read first time and referred to Subcommittee on 
Higher Education; May 22, 2003, reported to Committee on 
Education; May 23, 2003, reported adversely, with favorable 
Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; 
May 23, 2003, sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1566                                   By:  Janek


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to Texas A&M University--Texarkana.                            
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 87.571, Education Code, is amended by 
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to 
read as follows:
	(a)  Texas A&M University--Texarkana is a coeducational 
[upper-level] institution of higher education located in the City 
of Texarkana.  The university is a component of The Texas A&M 
University System and is under the management and control of the 
board of regents of The Texas A&M University System.
	(b)  The board has the same powers and duties concerning the 
university as are conferred on the board by law concerning Texas A&M 
University.  The[, except that the] university may [not] offer 
lower-division courses, but is not required to do so in any academic 
year for which the legislature does not appropriate money 
specifically for that purpose [freshman or sophomore programs].
	(c)  The university may offer lower-division courses on the 
campus of Texarkana College or in a permanent building located on 
property acquired by the university for a permanently relocated 
campus.  The university may not offer lower-division courses on the 
campus of Texarkana College without prior approval from Texarkana 
College [The university may enter into a partnership agreement with 
the Texarkana College District in the manner authorized by 
Subchapter N, Chapter 51].
	(e)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, 
Texas A&M University--Texarkana may operate as a general academic 
teaching institution with its own chief executive officer, 
administration, and faculty only after the Texas Higher Education 
Coordinating Board certifies that enrollment at Texas A&M 
University--Texarkana has reached an enrollment equivalent to 
2,500 full-time students for one semester.  Until that enrollment 
level is reached, the board may operate Texas A&M 
University--Texarkana in the City of Texarkana.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                           



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